In Black and White
by R. M. Jackson
Summary: AU. LITfriendship. Rory wants to attend the Debutante Ball to please her grandmother. She and Jess are best friends. This is an alternate universe fic based off Presenting Lorelai Gilmore.
1. In Black and White 1

I know the last thing I should be doing is starting a new chapter story, but I couldn't resist. I was originally writing this for _Kiss Me Fool,_ but the idea got bigger than a little drabble. This is a literati friendship fic. I haven't decided if I'll get them together by the end. This story is set during _Presenting Lorelai Gilmore_, which means it covers Rory's Debutante Ball. Dean doesn't exist. Rory asks Jess to escort her to the ball since he has been her friend for years.

Disclaimer: I claim to own nothing. Everything recognizable belongs to rich and important people. Some conversation is taken directly from _Presenting Lorelai Gilmore._

* * *

"Rory! How could you let Emily Gilmore con you into doing something like this?" Lorelai exclaimed. 

"Mom! Grandma only wants to be included in our lives. Stop being so mean to her!" Rory looked around for one of the diner boys to take their order. The sooner there was food, the sooner the conversation ended.

"But there's so much stupid planning for this stupid ball!" Lorelai whined.

Rory sighed. "Suck it up. I already told you I wanted to do this for grandma."

"Why?" Lorelai asked. "I've never wanted to attend another one of these silly events. We need to find you an escort; I need to call your father; we need to get you a dress. There's so much to do!"

"Wait. Back up to the part about dad. Why do you have to call dad?" Rory asked.

"Your father is supposed to present you at the ball."

"You never told me that! He's never going to come. Dad's worse than you when it comes to these events." Rory looked down at the table sadly. It wasn't even busy. Luke or Jess should have been over to take their orders by now.

"Sweets…"

"Whatever, it's no big deal. I can get someone else to do it. Grandpa probably, or Taylor." Rory looked around for either Luke or Jess to end the conversation.

"Rory..."

"The cable guy looked pretty friendly last week. Maybe he has a tux," Rory cut Lorelai off and continued to ramble.

Lorelai dug her phone out of her purse.

"I was kidding about the cable guy. What are you doing?" Rory asked frantically. This would have been the perfect time for Jess to show up with his order pad in hand.

"Look missy, there are plenty of things that should weird you out about coming out, but inviting your father shouldn't be one of them." Lorelai searched for Christopher's name in her cell phone contact list.

"He's not going to come." Rory knew her father's track record. He was not very good at showing up to events that mattered to her. He had missed some her of proudest moments, including many of her birthdays.

"You don't know until you ask." Lorelai found the right number and pressed the send button.

"Mom…" Rory pleaded. She was still looking around for Luke and Jess, specifically Jess. He knew how to lighten any moment. They must have been alone somewhere arguing, as they tended to do occasionally.

"Look, we call, we ask, there's no harm. Trust me; cable guy's not going anywhere." Rory scowled at the proposition.

Jess eyed Rory as he stepped downstairs with Luke. She had been right. Luke probably had a bone to pick with his nephew. He headed over immediately with two coffee mugs and a coffee pot. "My hero," she gushed as Jess filled her cup to the rim. "Where have you been?"

"I took a twenty out of the register and forgot to tell Luke. Apparently, that didn't sit well with him. I told him I'd give him the money back, but he still had to yell at me first." Jess pulled up a chair. "What's going on with this?" he asked, motioning to Lorelai chatting with Chris on the phone.

"Oh, nothing," Rory said as she sipped her coffee. "Just a catching up phone call between my parents."

"Oh. Awkward." Jess set the pot of the table as Lorelai thrust her mug at him. He filled it and stood up. "Do you want to order now?"

"Yes!" Rory exclaimed.

"Wow, aren't we jumpy tonight," Jess said.

Lorelai ended the call and stuck her phone back in her purse. "Hey, Little Debbie, your dad is definitely going to be there."

"You're kidding!" Rory exclaimed. Jess started to leave, but she pulled on his shirt for him to stay.

"No. He's going to walk you down the stairs, and turn you in a circle, watch you curtsy, and announce that Rory Gilmore is officially open for business!" Lorelai drank her coffee slowly and waited for Rory to respond.

"I can't believe it. And he definitely said definitely?"

"Definitely."

"So there's a fifty/fifty chance," Rory said hopefully. She looked up at Jess. He was confused, but still listening.

"I don't know. He sounded pretty sure. I'd say sixty/forty."

Jess held up the order pad. "I've only been standing here for ten minutes. Should I wait longer?"

* * *

Jess scooped vanilla ice cream into two cones. Rory gratefully grabbed her towering ice cream and licked it. 

"Jess?" Rory asked timidly.

Her best friend groaned. "What, Rory?" As he waited for her to answer him, he stuck the ice cream in the back of the freezer.

"I know it isn't your scene…"

"Then no." Jess joined Rory at the counter in Luke's. It was well past ten at night on a Saturday. The diner had closed, so Jess invited Rory over for ice cream cones. He hadn't realized she would try to rope him into doing her a favor at the same time.

"Come on Jess! Don't just say no," Rory begged. She batted her eyelashes at him, which caused him to roll his eyes.

"What is it this time?" he asked as he caught a drip sliding down his cone.

"There's this event Grandma was telling me about. It's called the Debutante Ball."

Jess raised his eyebrows at the word _ball_, and knew she was trying to get him to attend a fancy shmancy rich people's dance.

"It's my coming out," she stated bluntly.

His reaction was a domino effect. Jess laughed, then snorted, then dropped his ice cream cone on the floor. "Coming out of what? Out of the closet?" he asked as he frowned at the ice cream melting on the tiles.

"JESS! NO!" Rory shouted. She pushed him lightly and he fell off the stool and into the melting ice cream.

"All bets are off now. I have ice cream on my pants." Rory helped Jess to his feet so she could explain what the Debutante Ball was.

"It's a ceremony where I come out as a lady," she said.

Jess scoffed. "I bet Lorelai was all over the idea."

"Well, you know how mom is about these events. She tried her hardest to avoid them when she was my age, and then fled from that lifestyle to protect me. She tried to talk me out of it."

"Of course she tried to talk you out of it," Jess said. He hopped off the stool to start cleaning up the ice cream before it got sticky. "She hates the idea of spending time with the rich people."

Rory scrunched up her nose. "I though about that, but grandma was so upset when mom didn't attend her Debutante Ball. Mom first realized she was pregnant because she couldn't zip her dress. I guess I want to give that to grandma."

"Ah, aren't you nice?" Jess cooed mockingly. "I'm going to get some cleaner and another ice cream cone." He eyed Rory sucking the ice cream out of her cone. "Do you want a refill while I'm in the kitchen?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Rory joked as she handed Jess her empty cone. "Pack it extra tight; you can fit more in the cone if it's packed tighter." She smiled with glee. "Hurry back!" she added.

Jess vaguely recalled when the mother and daughter pair were chatting earlier that afternoon. This event must have been important if Christopher was supposed to be included. Jess had witnessed the aftermath of Chris not showing up to Rory's special events, such as her elementary school graduation, her seventh, eighth, ninth, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth birthday parties. He scooped the ice cream into the two cones. If Chris didn't show up, it would break Rory's heart again. It pained him to do so but, if Rory needed him to, he'd attend her ball.

Rory was patiently reading _The Fountainhead_ while she waited for Jess and her ice cream. Jess handed Rory her cone and started to mop up the floor. They were silent until he rolled the mop bucket away and immerged with his own cone.

"Tell me more about this Debutante Ball," he requested.

"It's silly," she said, brushing him off. "You wouldn't want to go."

"It depends," he said, "on what I have to do."

"You'd have to be my escort. You'd have to dress up in a fancy tux and cummerbunds and gloves." She sighed. "My dad is supposed to be my other escort. I don't know if he's going to come or not. It would mean a lot to me if my best friend could be my secure escort."

Jess licked his ice cream. "Okay. I'll do it," he said.

"What?" she asked, surprised that Jess was going to escort her.

"I'll do it," he repeated.

Rory shrieked and lunged at Jess to hug him, knocking both the ice cream and Jess on the floor.

He looked up at her from the floor. "You owe me a pair of pants."


	2. In Black and White 2

All right. Here we go. I now present to you: chapter two! I received complaints about bringing Chris into the story from Java and Sophie. I've already convinced them there is no need to panic, but I wanted to extend that message to the rest of you. Seriously, I detest Lorelai and Chris together. He will play an extremely minor part in this story. Basically, he's only here to escort Rory. Please don't stop reading because you hate Chris. Remember that I hate Chris as well. There will be very little affection!

As always, my reviewers need to be thanked: _Kassandra27, ShaolinQueen, EvilSmirk6, **Java**, imcck, Good2Know, **Sophie**, Curley-Q, JESSandRORYforever, Jeremy Shane, Sailor-Lit, QuEEnSeRb716, and blonde.biatch. _**Thanks a bunch! You all know how much I love reviews. : )**

**Disclaimer: _Oh, here it is...the lovely disclaimer. I own absolutely nothing. I don't own Gilmore Girls, Sonata Arctica's song "In Black and White", or the ideas and conversations from "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore."_**

* * *

"I can't believe you got Jess to cave!" Lorelai gushed.

"Oh, well. You know how Jess is. We bartered. Although, that was after I knocked him into the ice cream for the third time. Before then, all I owed him was a new pair of jeans without vanilla in the pocket." Rory pondered for a moment. "Now I need to read five Hemingway novels of his choice."

"Read? That is such an easy deal for you!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Where is Luke? We need coffee. I have been dealing with Emily Gilmore all morning. This is a coffee morning."

"It's Hemingway, mom," Rory reminded her.

"Right. LUKE!" Lorelai shouted.

"The coffee will come." Rory took the pamphlet from her pocket. "I'm supposed to let Jess know what to wear. Do you think I'll need to let him down lightly?"

"Let's see." Lorelai grabbed the brochure from Rory and began scanning the section. "Aha! Here we go."

"I think Jess will look great in a tux. I've never seen him dressed up before," Rory said as she waited for Lorelai to announce the dress code.

"Tails."

"What?" Rory asked.

"Hey, what's up?" Jess sauntered over with a pot of coffee.

"Oh, my hero! Coffee, coffee, coffee! This is such a coffee morning." Lorelai thrust the cup out. "We're just discussing the dress code."

"No, you were just about to tell me the dress code," Rory corrected as Jess finished pouring both Gilmores their coffee.

"Huh."

"You don't have a tux, do you?" Rory asked.

"When would I need a tux?" Jess laughed and went behind the counter to put the coffee on the burner.

"I don't know. You escort women, don't you?" Rory took a sip of coffee.

Jess sat next to Rory and stole her coffee briefly. "Well, now I do."

"So, a tux."

"Tails," Lorelai repeated after scanning the entire pamphlet for the second time.

"What?" Jess asked.

Thoughtfully, Lorelai drank some coffee before continuing. "Yeah, according to this, it says all escorts must be properly attired in black tails, white cummerbunds, and white gloves."

"What?" Jess asked again. He groaned. What had he gotten himself into? Sure, it was for Rory. Rory was his best friend. Nevertheless, the tails, cummerbunds, and gloves made him think twice.

"I'm sure the gloves are optional," Rory piped up before Jess or Lorelai could get a word in.

Lorelai shook her head and handed Rory the pamphlet. "Nope. Not according to this."

Rory scanned the section her mother had pointed to and passed the pamphlet down to Jess. Jess examined the same passage and groaned. "Tails? Gloves?" he asked as he tossed the pamphlet on the table.

"Please remember that I'm your best friend. You love me; I'll buy you ice cream…"

"And read Hemingway," Jess smirked.

"And read Hemingway," Rory repeated slowly and softly.

Lorelai's cell phone began to ring. "I bet you a dollar this is Emily Gilmore." She proceeded to dig through her purse until she retrieved the ringing object.

"Grandma's been calling all day," Rory explained to Jess. Jess nodded. He knew when Emily and Lorelai were concerned, there was arguing right around the corner.

"Hello, mother." Lorelai smirked in Rory's direction. "No, Rory does not need a gentleman caller." Rory looked over at Jess briefly. "Uh, because she has an escort already."

"I don't think Grandma knew you were going to escort me," Rory said blankly to Jess. Once again, he stole her coffee and took a sip.

"Well, who do you think?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, she definitely doesn't know." Rory went to drink her coffee, only to discover the cup was empty. "More, please."

Jess groaned and went to pour Rory a second cup of coffee. When he returned a moment later, Lorelai was still on the phone with Emily.

"No, she really does have an escort," Lorelai paused briefly. "Again, who do you think?"

"Does she know yet?" Jess asked as he sat back down.

Rory shook her head.

"Jess."

"Okay, now she knows." Rory took a large sip from the coffee and placed it on the table.

Lorelai sighed. "Yes, mom…the horrible hoodlum boy that pushed Rory down the stairs when she was nine."

"Your mom was right, this is a coffee morning." Jess stole the cup from Rory's hands as she picked it up.

"Hey! Get your own!" she retorted, stealing the cup back.

"No, mom. Jess has grown out of pushing innocent girls down the stairs." Lorelai rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand that Emily was talking so much, she could barely get a word in. "Yes, I know there's a giant staircase." Lorelai drank the remainder of her own coffee and thrust the cup back at Jess for a refill. "No, Jess will not push Rory down the giant staircase." Lorelai pounded on the table to catch Jess's attention. He shot her a look and grabbed her cup off the table. "What noise?" She snapped her fingers for Jess to hurry up. "Oh, that noise. Yeah, that was Rory falling down the stairs. Jess pushed her."

Rory started giggling and had to leave the table. Jess handed Lorelai her coffee and backed away slowly.

"That's what you call a joke," Lorelai said. "No, mom. It is not crude. You just don't get humor." Lorelai smacked her forehead and slumped in the chair. "I can't talk to you anymore!" Frantically, Lorelai flipped her phone shut and set it to silent.

Jess stood wordlessly waiting for Rory to return from wherever she had disappeared to. He smiled nervously as Lorelai looked at him.

"So, kid. Tails."

Jess nodded. "Tails."

* * *

Rory and Jess sat on the yoga mats in Miss Patty's sipping to go cups filled with coffee. They were taking a break from "dancing" at her insistence. 

"When's your dad supposed to show up?" Jess asked, knowing it was a touchy subject for Rory to discuss.

"Today," she said.

"If he isn't coming…" Jess started.

"He'll come," Rory promised as she drained the remainder of coffee from the paper cup.

"Ready?" Miss Patty asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Rory said as Jess helped her off the mats.

Jess walked Rory to the center of the floor and they positioned themselves. Miss Patty chewed her lips as they began to dance.

"Okay, now keep counting in your head. Look each other in the eye. Good. Jess, honey, are you leading?"

Jess raised his eyebrow. How exactly should he know if he were leading? "I have no idea," he sputtered. He attempted to spin Rory, which resulted in her stepping on his foot.

"Okay, okay! Stop, stop, stop!" Miss Patty raised her voice and the two friends turned their attention to the dance instructor. "Now, remember, one of the most important things in ballroom dancing is to remember to spot, otherwise you're going to get dizzy."

Rory nodded in agreement and looked up at Jess sheepishly. She had definitely already gotten dizzy a few times during the lesson. Although he had held his own, Rory had been tripping over both her feet and his.

"So, what you want to do is you want to pick out something to focus on," Miss Patty continued. "I usually like to find a lonely seaman. Then when turning, whip your head around and find your spot again." Miss Patty demonstrated by spinning. "Hello Sailor. Hello Sailor. Hello Sailor." She completed her spins and stood very straight and, according to Rory, very balanced.

Jess let his mouth fall open. "You have to be kidding me."

Rory punched her friend playfully. "Although it would probably liven things up, I think you can do it without the "hello sailor" part."

_"Rory…"_ Jess whined. He sounded pathetic, but at that moment, he didn't care too much.

"Please Jess? Remember Hemingway?" she pleaded.

He growled. "I change my mind. Seven," he said.

Rory groaned as well, but it would be worth it to read Hemingway. At least with Jess as her partner, she would not be stuck with one of Emily Gilmore's 'Gentlemen Callers'."

"Okay, now take it from the top," Miss Patty instructed. She flipped on the music and the pair started to stumble through the dance.

They were halfway through the dance when Rory heard a noise at the doorway.

"Hey, you guys are really improving. Now you're actually facing each other!" she sipped her coffee gleefully and reveled in their inability to dance.

"Anyone need a break?" Chris piped up from behind Lorelai.

"Dad!" Rory deserted Jess and dashed over to hug her father. "I told you he was coming!" she said to Jess.

"Okay, take another five. Don't sit down this time. Your muscles will get cold," Miss Patty instructed. She excused herself for another much-needed smoke.

"So, how's it going?" Lorelai asked gently.

Rory scuffed her sneaker on the shiny floor. "Actually, I'm not very good."

"Yeah, which is really holding me back because I'm a natural," Jess shot back with his own answer before Lorelai could insult him.

"I've stepped on his feet more times than I can count," Rory mentioned. "Miss Patty actually thought I was going to seriously hurt Jess at one point." She laughed nervously.

"It's not your fault. Ballroom dancing is a wonderfully sexist thing. Any woman can do it; she just needs a strong male lead." Chris noticed Jess was scowling. "No offense Jess," he added halfheartedly.

Jess grumbled something that Rory could not make out. Nevertheless, she pinched him anyway, leaving him to rub his neck after her fingers left the nape.

They stood back for a moment as Chris pulled Lorelai toward him. Almost immediately, she stumbled. "My mistake. Almost any woman can do it." He grinned playfully at Lorelai.

She pouted and stomped her heel on the floor. "I wasn't ready! I want a do-over!" she demanded.

"Fine," Chris said reluctantly. "May I have this dance?"

Lorelai took Christopher's hand. "I don't know. Do you have a trust fund?" She glanced over at Rory and Jess, who were laughing on the sidelines. "Always make sure!"

As Rory's parents began to dance, Rory and Jess watched patiently. Rory was certain she would never be able to spin with such grace. On the other hand, if her mother could spin that gracefully, it was possible she could as well. Lorelai was not exactly what one would dub graceful. "Okay! I'm adopted!" Rory shouted as Lorelai spun back into Christopher's arms.

Jess shook his head. He wasn't exactly coordinated either. This whole dancing thing was not particularly up his alley. "Yeah, I'm never going to be able to do that," he said gruffly.

"Don't worry. We'll practice!" Miss Patty said.

"Great, I'm looking forward to it," Jess sighed. He attempted to smile and then attempted to pull Rory closer to him. Instinctively, she stumbled. "Like mother, like daughter," he said softly.

"Jess!" she exclaimed.

Chris and Lorelai excused themselves from the dance studio. "Thanks for showing up," Lorelai said.

"It was worth it just to see the show those two put on back there."

"They're great aren't they?" Lorelai asked as she sipped her coffee.

"A little off balance, but sure. They're great."

Lorelai turned her head toward the dance studio.

"OW! RORY! THAT WAS MY FOOT!"


	3. In Black and White 3

I knew this was going to be short, so here's the end! There's not much else to say other than enjoy. So do that!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed chapter 2: Kassandra27, Stella [Your first Lit! I'm so happy, Java, Jeremy Shane, Sailor-Lit, Sophie, swimmerluver, QuEEnSeRb716, imcck, Kemowitch92, Curley-Q, blonde-biatch, and ShaolinQueen.

**Disclaimer: It will never be mine.**

* * *

"My dad could show you how to tie that thing," Rory mentioned to Jess as he struggled with his bow tie. She shoveled another forkful of Chinese rice into her mouth. "Otherwise, you're going to sit there all night playing with it."

Jess glared at her.

"Okay, I get it. You don't like my dad. It's fine. But you don't know how to tie a bow tie. I can't help you because I don't know either."

Jess blinked and went back to struggling with the tie.

"DAD! Come here for a second," Rory yelled. Jess scowled at her and removed the tie from around his neck.

"What's the matter, Ror?" Chris asked.

"I need you to show Jess how to tie a bow tie," Rory requested as she sunk back into the couch pillows.

Chris grabbed the ends of the tie and tried to help Jess by demonstrating. "Okay, so you pull the left side through the back loop and tug a little bit on both sides. Now you my friend, might just be mistaken for a gentleman…or a waiter."

Jess scowled at Rory's father. "Thanks," he said as sincerely as he could through gritted teeth. "I should go." He untied the tie and left it draped around his collar. "Okay. I'll see you at three, right?"

Rory nodded and got up from her place on the couch. "Okay. Wait a sec." She dug out a white box and handed it to him.

"What's this?" Jess asked.

"Oh. Those are your gloves," Rory said as he opened the box to inspect what was inside.

"Huh. You weren't kidding." Jess closed the box, but not before grimacing.

"No no, ladies never kid!" Lorelai piped up from the corner.

"Right. Forgot about that bit." He opened the door. "See you at three."

* * *

Rory wasn't the least bit nervous as she was escorted to the preparation room. She noticed there were girls primping at the various mirrors scattered around. 

"Hang you dress there, put on your makeup over there. You'll have to make do with a non-lighted mirror. The lighted ones went to the girls that were here before dawn," she instructed Rory. Rory nodded, perplexed that she was apparently one of the last girls there. "Listen up ladies! Everyone must be beautiful and ready to go by 7:30!" she shouted. Immediately, the girls began to rush their preparation.

Spotting an empty seat, Rory made her way to the vanity and set down her things. There was a girl with short blonde hair with a stylist fussing over her. "I can't believe we have an hour and a half," Rory mentioned in an attempt to be friendly.

"I know! I am never going to be ready in time," the girl said nervously. "God only knows if the swelling on my nose will go down. I had to go and inherit my father's nose." She noticed Rory seemed to be swamped with the unnecessary information she had just fed her. "I'm Libby."

"Rory," she said simply. Rory wasn't too sure about the frantic girls attending the ball. The whole event was starting to creep her out a bit. Instead, she tried to focus on what she actually needed to do to get ready. Lorelai had prepared her at home with a touch of mascara and a dab of lip gloss. Rory was not really into vanity.

"Uh, which one should I wear?" Libby busted through Rory's thoughts with a choice of lipstick colors. I've thought about this all month, and I cannot decide."

Rory sighed. Suddenly, she wished she had shown up later or declined the invitation to the ball. "Oh, well, that's a tough one," she said.

"I know!" Libby agreed frantically. "This is red red, and this is orange red. The wrong one and I will end up looking like a hooker." Libby thought for a moment and gasped. "Or a teacher!"

"Wow. That is a lot of pressure," Rory said, turning back to her own mirror. Libby had not quite given up yet.

"The two minutes you are standing on those stairs tonight will determine the social status of the rest of your life," she said nervously. Rory nodded.

"Wow. What if you trip?" Rory noticed how wide Libby's eyes had become. As much as she wasn't enjoying their conversation, she didn't want to freak the poor debutante out more than she already was. "I mean, not that you would," Rory corrected. "You wouldn't. I might. Probably will actually. Could be a real Cirque du Soleil kind of night." Rory tried to laugh, but still spotted fear residing in Libby's eyes.

"You should not even joke about stuff like that!" Libby said, finally turning away from Rory to attack her hair stylist.

Rory sighed and figured it would be a good time to get dressed. She emerged from her dressing room a few minutes later and grabbed a book out her bag. Suddenly, she heard someone approach her. Rory looked up and sighed. Apparently, Libby had gotten over the fact that she had freaked her out.

Libby took out a flask and drank from it. "Midori Sour?" she offered.

"Ugh, no thanks." Rory went back to her book in the hopes Libby would go away.

Instead, Libby sat down next to her. "More for me." She took another drink from the flask. "At my last coming out, I shared with this girl who couldn't handle her booze. Neon green puke all over her white dress."

"Your last coming out?" Rory had been under the impression that a girl only "came out" once.

"Oh, this is my fifth one this year." Libby closed the flask and looked at Rory.

"Wow," she answered. Reluctantly, Rory shut her book. She was well aware that Libby would not leave her side now.

"They say four out of five debs marry their escorts," Libby informed Rory.

"Kind of like the dentists with Trident," Rory joked.

"I figure, five coming out balls, five escorts, one of them has to stick, right?" Libby reasoned. Rory nodded. "So, is your escort the one?" Libby pressed on.

"The one what?" Rory asked, already wondering why she hadn't left to find Jess or to read in a closet.

"The one you're going to marry!" Libby exclaimed as if it were the most obvious question in the world.

Rory paused. Jess? Marriage? She wanted to laugh, but wasn't sure how Libby would take it. "Oh, well…"

"Is he cute?" Libby asked, inching closer to Rory.

Again, another tough question for Rory. Sure, Jess was attractive, but how was she supposed to say that to an outsider? Jess was her best friend, not her boyfriend. "I suppose he's cute but…"

"Where are you guys planning to live when you get married?" Libby spouted off.

"Hang on." Typically, Rory was a patient person. This time, she just couldn't deal with Libby. While Rory headed to the doorway Jess was standing by, Libby attached herself to another debutante.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hi," she said back. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you before you became a proper lady," he joked. "Are you excited?" he asked, attempting small talk.

"Excited to get out of here," Rory laughed.

"That bad?" Jess asked.

"Oh, yeah," Rory confirmed. "My mom was right. These balls are horrible. This one girl has already been to four this year."

"Jeez." Jess shook his head. "Twenty minutes."

Rory spotted Libby coming toward them. "Oh no. Hide me," Rory said quietly. Before she could run or hide behind Jess, Libby approached them.

"Oh my God! Is that your escort?" she asked excitedly.

Rory looked at Jess, who seemed to be twitching in his tux. "Yeah, it is."

"You are totally getting married!" Libby squealed and walked away.

"What did she just say?" Jess asked, even though he had a pretty good idea.

"Oh, nothing. It was nothing. I think we're lining up now. I'll see you in a little bit?" Rory asked.

"Aye Aye," Jess responded. "Don't trip!" he called out as an after thought.

Rory waited in line for her name to be called. "Lorelai Gilmore: daughter of Christopher Hayden and Lorelai Gilmore." Cautiously, Rory walked down the stairs to meet Jess at the bottom. He was waiting by the banister, wringing his hands. Chris escorted her down to Jess. After she curtsied, Jess took her hand and brought her over to the circle of debutantes.

* * *

"I can't believe I only stepped on your foot once!" Rory gushed as she and Jess made their way to Luke's. 

"Yeah, that was pretty unbelievable," Jess said. "I half expected to need my foot amputated after this whole thing."

Rory smacked Jess on the shoulder. "Thanks. You know, for everything," she said.

"My pleasure," Jess said as he opened the door for her. "Remember, you're a lady now. Can't have you opening any doors by yourself." Jess smirked.

Smiling, Rory shook her head and hoisted herself up on a stool.

"You still owe me pants and Hemingway," he reminded her.

"Jess!"

"But since you're such a lady, it looks like I'll have to read it to you!"

Lorelai watched through the window as Jess chased Rory behind the counter with a stack of Hemingway novels.

"Back from the ball?" Luke asked from behind her.

"Yeah."

"Where are Rory and Jess?" Lorelai pointed at the window. Luke nodded in return. "What are they doing?"

"Oh, nothing. Jess is just about to have his revenge by burying Rory in an avalanche of books."

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
